Lessons in do-it-yourself investingBeing a do-it-yourself investor means taking full responsibility for creating a portfolio of high-performance, low-cost mutual funds that you'll be able to hold on to for the long term.

Why M&A deals fail or succeedThe head of the global merger management practice at McKinsey & Company, Clay Deutsch, takes us behind the scenes of some of India's biggest deals and tells you why deals succeed or fail, because 70% of all deals fail.

An example of branding wizardryShining Emotional Surplus' founder and strategist on how he created a system which keeps the client satisfied both in the short run and the long run.

June 26, 2007

Rs 1-lakh car: An open letter to Ratan TataOn face of it, your vision looks to be a fabulous one that will fulfil the dreams of hundreds of thousands of Indians who would want to own that esteemed car. However, this very dream has myriad potential hazards that might surface later.

How Toyota develops exceptional peopleLeading Toyota authorities Jeffrey Liker and David Meier give you the keps to growing top performers from within through a detailed preocess of preparation, traning, and follow-up. Here are Toyota's secrets to building an exceptional workforce . . .

Thiagarajan, world's youngest airline CEOThiagarajan, who had primarily restricted his aviation activities to south India, is now locating stars of fortune in western and central India for possible acquisitions

Tough task ahead for new Infy CEOMy focus would be to make Infosys more competitive, increase productivity further, continue to be a leader in corporate governance, attract the best of global talent and enhance brand equity

New IT mantra: Catch 'em youngLeading players realise that the best way to source the skilled manpower required to fuel their ambitious growth plans is to develop it themselves by working with leading education institutes.

Inside Sun Micro's secret black box!Once one of the hottest companies in Silicon Valley, Sun Microsystems crashed with the dotcoms, but it kept pouring money into R&D. Now there are signs of a revival.

Kiran Nadar on HCL, Shiv, & Bill GatesKiran Nadar is more than just HCL founder Shiv Nadar's wife: she has begun to give back to society through the Shiv Nadar University and through her efforts at bridging the urban-rural divide.

Make money doing what you loveFor entrepreneurs who convert a passion into profession, the fun never ends. Here's how you can make money doing what you love

Secret to finding work-life balanceIf you're working 100 hours a week and haven't seen sunlight in months, listen up. Top business leaders share their advice for finding that coveted work-life balance.

The power of positive thinkingBusiness leaders have always flocked to self-help books and gurus that focus on getting the most out of your career and your life, but since Oprah plugged Rhonda Byrne's The Secret the business of positive thinking is booming.

Are these the Google killers?An army of fledgling companies is lining up to take on Google. Could the world's biggest search engine possibly be vulnerable?

Taxing foreign arms and agentsWhen a foreign enterprise operates through a dependent agent, it shall be deemed to have a permanent establishment in India.

Dr Reddy's: From Rs 25 lakh to Rs 5,800 croreK Anji Reddy from a small village near Vijaywada, quit his job with the government-owned Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited in 1974 to set up his own company. The rest is history.

How RBI helps the common manThe Reserve Bank of India or the banker's bank is the one which, perhaps, has the most impact on the life of normal people

DLF's real estate storyFour years after delisting its shares from the Delhi Stock Exchange, real estate behemoth DLF is knocking at the capital market again selling shares at - hold your breath - 837 times the valuation at which it exited the stock market. Should you buy?

Rishad Premji: Student princeIn the second half of July this year, when Rishad Premji, the eldest son of Wipro Chairman Azim Premji, joins the company as a business manager, Pratik Kumar, executive vice president-HR will have a tough time.

How to select an online brokerIt is important to zero in on the right Net broker before stepping into the convenient world of online stock investing. Evaluate both qualitative and quantitative factors to make a choice.

June 09, 2007

The amazing story of the birth of HCLThe man who was fueling the ambitions of his five other colleagues at that canteen was a 30-year-old engineer from Tamil Nadu, Shiv Nadar. And this is how the story of Hindustan Computers Limited, HCL began.

The amazing story of Lala Charat RamNever having been to a B-school, Lala Charat Ram was exceptionally interested in business education and played a pivotal role in the evolution of the All India Management Association and the IIMs.

It's raining wine! Wine aficionados have taken heart from the news that the GoI has 'decided' to remove additional customs duties on imported alcoholic beverages from July.

Farm revival critical for poverty removalFor the country's poorest districts, the only hope of escaping grinding poverty is to increase farm productivity in a big way -- in most of these districts, around 85 per cent of those employed work in the agricultural sector.

Towards a lower home loan burdenIn the long run, the amended Securities Bill may partly determine the interest rates that you pay on your home loans. However, some technical issues still need to be resolved